The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Turntable: First Look

In this post, we talk about the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Turntable.

It’s a great time to be a music lover. Great strides are being made in streaming music with full CD resolution coming from several companies. At the same time, old fashioned record stores seem to be popping up everywhere. These are really fun to browse through looking for both new music and classic gems. At Audio Advice, we are seeing a huge rise in turntable interest. We have them in all price ranges, but none is more popular than the entry level Pro-Ject Debut series which has been upgraded to Carbon DC status.

The Debut Carbon DC is flat out an incredible value for spinning vinyl, and has won great reviews and many awards since its introduction. It gets its name from the carbon fiber tone arm. If you are into bicycles, you know carbon is known for its strength, light weight, and improved performance. When you are playing a record, the only vibrations you want transmitted are those coming from the phono cartridge. Using carbon fiber in a tone arm is a great way to keep the arm itself from adding any coloration to the sound as it holds the cartridge above your record.

The bearings in a tone arm are also critical. You don’t want these to wobble while the cartridge is tracking the record. The carbon arm is as good as we have seen in this price category.

The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC uses belt drive which isolates the motor from the platter. Remember, you are dealing with tiny modulations on a record and you do not want any motor noise to make its way into those modulations the cartridge is tracking. The motor is further isolated by its rubber suspension, effectively hanging it in a small opening in the turntable base.

A very important aspect of any turntable is the cartridge. This is the piece that turns the grooves into an electrical signal. The Debut Carbon DC comes equipped with an Ortofon Red, which is a $100 cartridge. This is a critically acclaimed great value in cartridges, but if you want to move up to something better, we can even give you some trade in value for it against an even better one.

Finally, the Debut Carbon DC designation represents an improvement in the power supply. They are using a technology found in their outboard Speed Box which gives better speed stability to the motor.

Any turntable or cartridge purchased from Audio Advice includes free set-up. You will not believe how critical this is to the ultimate performance of your turntable. We’ve got all the tools to do a great job, so all you have to worry about is enjoying your vinyl!

We usually have lots of Debut Carbon DCs in stock, so please come in and check one out. They even come in a variety of colors! (High-gloss black or shiny red, green, blue, yellow, silver or white.)